“I’m Pete Austen, the Saints Study Centre manager. Part of my role is to organise and deliver, in conjunction with their schools, programmes of study for students who come to the Study Centre. Our aim here at the Study Centre is to make young learners aware that learning can be fun and enjoyable. I have always been passionate about sport and teaching, so to have a job where these two passions can be utilised is fantastic!
Having spent a lot of my leisure time in the past playing sport, I now (because I’m old!) am using that time to watch sport (particularly the Saints) and spend time with my family and friends!
“Hi my name is Jeanette. I’m the centre co-ordinator here at the Saints Study Centre. Along with Pete and Vicki, I deliver the sessions and help children achieve greater self confidence through the activities performed. In my spare time I like spending time with my family, gardening, reading, baking and doing crossword puzzles. I’ve just been given a Nintendo DS Lite for my birthday and am becoming really good at Brain Training!!”
‘Hi I’m Ellie, I’m a mentor at the Saints Study Centre, and I help Pete and Jeanette with the sessions, whether it be supporting or assisting with delivery. As well as working at the Saints I work across the Northamptonshire Study Centres, including Cobblers and Steelbacks. I love being part of the Saints stimulating environment, and I can see the difference it makes to young learners. The programmes we deliver are exciting and innovative, and the young learners engage immediately with our exciting activities. I’ve become responsible for updating the website which keeps schools, teachers, parents and young learners up to date with what we’re doing here at the Study Centre.
As well as working at the Saints Study Centre I keep myself busy by working part time at Goals Soccer Centre, and I also enjoy going to the gym and playing football in my spare time.
I come from an educational background, my dad was a teacher, and now tutors people in French, Spanish and German. I can speak conversational French and Spanish and I have a degree in Drama, in the future I would like to pursue a career in working with children, in some form of teaching.’
Hi my name is Jonny and I’ve been a mentor here at the Saints Study Centre for over 4 years now (it feels much, much longer!). My role at the Study Centre is to help the children enjoy their time here and support the other members of staff. Alongside my work with the Study Centre I am a trainee teacher at the University of Northampton.
Working at the Study Centre has been a great experience working alongside a club of the Northampton Saints stature and it is great to see how far the children come on from their first induction day to presentation evening. But most of all it is just great fun to come down to the Saints and have a good laugh (usually at my expense!).
Hi my name is Ian and I am a volunteer mentor at the Study Centre. When I’m not mentoring I work at Barclaycard, and I got involved with the Study Centre about 4 years ago when I came for a day sponsored by Barclaycard. I loved it so much that I came back to help with the weekly PFS sessions.
As well as the buzz I get from helping the children and seeing them having fun whilst learning, it has benefited me by improving my confidence. I now lead some of the ICT sessions and stadium tours; which is my favourite activity.
My interests include music (listening, I can’t play!), local history, family history and sport, particularly the Saints of course!
Hi, my name is Charlotte-Saskia and just like Ian, I became a volunteer mentor at the Study Centre after I visited during a Barclaycard Day. I had such a good time that I’ve been down here every week since and really enjoy working with the kids and just having fun! Every week we do something different and I particularly love getting to know the kids and seeing what a good time they have week to week. They get to do all sorts of different activities and I like to get involved whatever the task, whether it’s playing tag rugby outside or doing creative activities on the computers – and usually the kids can teach me a thing or two about technology (and getting covered in mud!) Although I am pretty busy working full time for Barclaycard, I always look forward to escaping to the Study Centre each week to meet some great little characters and work with some lovely people.
In my spare time I love to go to the gym and I am also a huge Saints fan, so I spend many weekends following the team and cheering on the boys. The first time I went on a stadium tour and was allowed in the players’ changing rooms, I think I was actually more excited than the kids!
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We also have a number of volunteer mentors who give up their time each week to assist the children whilst in the Study Centre. A mentor is an adult who spends time with a young person with the aim of encouraging, motivating and helping develop their skills. Anyone can be a mentor if they are enthusiastic, patient and can relate to young people and show willingness to learn.
For further details about mentoring please contact the Study Centre on 01604 599152.
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